Start the Plan: Identify the Recruitment and Retention Strategy and Intervention Quick Tool [2.1.5]

Introduction

Task 1: Review Materials to Help Clarify Options

• Recruitment and Retention Strategies and Indicators [2.1.6.a.1]. This resource provides a definition of strategies traditionally used to assist in recruitment or retention of staff. The resource also provides indicators that suggest when a strategy be used.
• Intervention Suggestions for Recruitment and Retention Strategies [2.1.6.a.2]. This document lists intervention suggestions for each strategy and directs readers to resources, external links and other sources of information.
• Strategy Examples within Behavioral Health [2.1.6.a.3]. This document provides case studies exemplifying how behavioral health organizations have used a strategy or a combination of strategies to effectively recruit or retain their staff.

Task 2: Decide Which Strategy Would Be Most Effective

• The agency did not have enough applicants to make a good choice?
  Recruitment strategies address challenges by marketing the organization more effectively to increase understanding of what the organization does, its mission and values, and what skills employees need.

• The agency did not hire the right candidate?
  Selection strategies reduce the number of hiring mistakes and increase the chances of appropriate hires.

• The employee, once hired, was not given adequate information or support to start the job correctly?
  Orientation strategies improve effectiveness by giving the new employee the support to adequately complete the job.

• Turnover is high, staff is not engaged, and/or the culture of the organization is negative?
  Recognition strategies acknowledge the important contributions of employees and remind employee of their value and contributions as individuals and a member of the organization.

• Skills are not appropriate or adequate and hires become frustrated, disengage, leave, or are let go?
  Training strategies provide employees with the information and skills they need to do their jobs effectively.

• The staff is stagnant – they reach their peak in the organization and become frustrated, disengage, leave, or are let go?
  Career development strategies support staff to stay within the organization while gaining position or increasing their skills.

• Employees’ needs are not suitably matched with the supervision they receive?
  Supervision strategies help supervisors more effectively manage, coordinate, and communicate administrative policy to employees.

Task 3: Decide Which Intervention in that Strategy Will Be Most Effective

• How big is your problem? Is it a problem of the whole organization, of a certain site or division, of one shift or all shifts?
• Do you need an immediate fix or can you plan a longer intervention for a greater future outcome? 
• Do you have to be concerned with running out of resources for long-term interventions? Can you complete the intervention in stages?
• Do you need to start with short-term objectives to show results and provide quick relief?
• What intervention could produce the biggest impact for your problem?
• What intervention would be the most realistic in terms of resources and successful task completion?
• Do you have key staff, contractors, or volunteers available to complete the necessary steps in the intervention, such as those who will be involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating the intervention?

• The Risk Management Matrix. This worksheet helps to identify, qualify, quantify, and prioritize risks (e.g., events that might happen, or the uncertainty of a project), create mitigation and contingency plans, and assign risk owners.
• Stakeholder Analysis Worksheet. This worksheet helps document the identified stakeholders and their role. It may be helpful in determining the stakeholder resources available for each option.
• Resource Loading Worksheet. This worksheet documents the identified work effort required, the duration, and the allowed commitment level of each person assigned to the project.

• Start this step again,
• Chose another intervention, or
• Plan dual interventions.